


Rain

by Oakwyrm



Category: Thrilling Intent (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Neighbors, Other, Rain, cliches, clichés everywhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 10:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7263640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oakwyrm/pseuds/Oakwyrm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being stuck inside for a week wasn't Zalvetta's idea of fun. Especially not with Xin around. So rain be damned he is taking this walk or he might do something he'd later regret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rain

**Author's Note:**

> What do I do when I should be writing Siblings? This. This is what I do when I should be writing Siblings.

After a weeks worth of consecutive thunderstorms with precious few breaks of sunshine in between them Zalvetta was starting to get restless. The weather hadn't exactly stopped him from leaving his home but it had limited what he could do. Rooftops, for example, were treacherously slippery especially in such a rural area where multi-pitched roofs were annoyingly popular.

This perhaps explained why one evening he found himself outside in slacks, a thin, oversized grey t-shirt and sandals with a multi coloured umbrella clutched tightly in one hand. He hadn't even paused to pull socks on, which explained his choice of the normally so clumsy footwear. He didn't particularly care that it was cold he needed to at least take a walk or he would spontaneously combust.

He took a deep breath as he stood on the curb of the road. The smell of rain was in the air and the greenery on either side of the small road was looking considerably battered after the week of hard rain. A barely noticeable drizzle was falling from the sky so he saw no need to open his umbrella yet.

The wind blew through the bushes, making them rustle and bend before quieting for a moment. It had been like this all day. Zalvetta took a step forward, beginning his walk towards the sea. You couldn't really see it from his house but it wasn't far at all. Within two minutes he was off cement and walking on the gravel pathway that followed the shoreline. The water was calm, for how windy it was, but as this place was about in the middle of a large bay rather than just the sea that was only logical.

He stopped as the rain began falling faster. Deciding he didn't feel like getting soaked he opened the umbrella and only then did he notice he'd grabbed the wrong one. He stared for a moment at the circular rainbow above him before sighing and continuing on his way. The gravel crunching under his feet accompanied by the sound of the rain hitting the umbrella and the wind in the trees made him feel calm. It also helped that he hadn't seen a single person since he'd left the house. Xin was annoying at best, infuriating at worst. Alone time was greatly appreciated.

As the pathway curved away from the shoreline and up into a more wooded area he stopped again. The reason was unclear to him he just stopped and let the feel of the wind on his skin, the smell of the sea and the sound of the rain carry him. It was cold but not bitingly so, it was at that precise temperature where you do realize that yes, it is cold, but it's not unpleasant. He opened his eyes and looked down at a puddle that had formed in a hole in the pathway. There was something oddly hypnotic about just watching the ripples the droplets made as they fell.

How long he stood there he really couldn't say, he was present in the world, saw and felt and heard but his mind was blank. So of course he wasn't watching his grip and when a strong gust of wind blew up out of nowhere it managed to make him stumble and let go of Xin's umbrella.

“Shit,” he muttered. Xin loved that umbrella if he lost it there would be hell to pay. He was about to begin chasing after it when someone caught it. He blinked at the man, about his age if he had to guess, dressed in a bright red raincoat. “Thanks?” he offered, holding out his hand so the stranger could give the umbrella back.

“Aren't you cold?” the stranger asked as Zalvetta took back the umbrella to shield himself from the rain again. He was suddenly reminded that he was wearing only his most comfortable clothes and that he hadn't bothered to sort out his hair that morning.

“Not really,” he answered, privately he wondered why the stranger was talking to him but even more why he bothered to answer. The stranger smiled brightly and Zalvetta almost felt the need to shield his eyes. He'd heard of people having smiles so bright it lit up the room but he'd always figured that was some kind of over poetic nonsense.

“That's good,” the stranger said and, to Zalvetta's endless surprise, he sounded genuinely happy.

“Well, uh... bye I guess?” Zalvetta tried not to sound awkward, he really did. He failed rather miserably. Strangers being nice was a rather new thing for him. Perhaps because he'd never given anyone much of a chance before but that wasn't really his concern.

“Oh! That's where I know you from!” the stranger said suddenly. Zalvetta stopped his turn in favour of squinting suspiciously up at the stranger. “You're my new neighbour.” Zalvetta blinked.

“Huh...” he said, studying the man who supposedly was his neighbour a little closer. “I thought you were blond,” he commented, catching a brief glimpse of brown hair from underneath the red hood. The stranger laughed.

“No that's Markus. One of my room mates,” he replied. “I'm Gregor Hartway.” Zalvetta tilted his head to the side.

“One of? How many do you have?” he asked. He only had Xin, who technically was also his legal guardian and was “only crashing here until I find a place I like put the knife down Zalvy”. His eye twitched, the only outward sign of his annoyance.

“Three? I think? Inien seems to move in whenever she likes so I don't know if I should count her,” Gregor mused. Zalvetta thought for a moment. He had noticed the new neighbours of course, it was part of the job description to notice all new things in his environment. Of the ones he'd managed to see so far there was a blond man, a white haired woman who was far too young to warrant her hair colour and a man with short black hair who kind of looked like he would burn everything he owned to the ground given the right incentive.

“She wouldn't happen to have white hair?” he asked. Gregor shook his head.

“No that's Ashe and don't tell her you thought she was Inien. She might actually kill you,” he said. Zalvetta raised an eyebrow, curious as he sensed no lie in Gregor's words. His new neighbours were becoming more and more interesting by the second.

“Since we're headed in the same direction,” he said, “why don't you walk me home?” Gregor seemed surprised but nodded. Zalvetta privately celebrated his victory as the two began heading up the hill. A chance to learn more about his new neighbours was not to be thrown away. It didn't hurt that one of them was kind of cute either.

**Author's Note:**

> So I took a walk in the rain to look for inspiration and just stretch my legs. It was supposed to be inspiration for Siblings. Instead all I got was this. God dammit.


End file.
